Marcos pushes for early conclusion of South China Sea Code of Conduct

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is pushing for the early conclusion of the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea based on international law.

In his intervention during the 25th ASEAN-China Summit, Marcos said the immediate conclusion of the COC becomes more relevant as nations mark 40 and 20 years of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), respectively.

According to Marcos, it is important that the UNCLOS continues to be upheld as the universal framework in oceans and sea activities.

“It shall be an example of how states manage their differences: through reason and through right. I, therefore, welcome the progress on textual negotiations on the COC this past year and hopefully an approved code of conduct in the very near future,” Marcos said.

In October, Secretary General Dato Paduka Lim Jock Hoi said the ASEAN and China were already working on the second draft of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.

Lim said despite the challenges, including the delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic, “ASEAN member-states and also China have exerted effort to resume the negotiation on COC and maintain the momentum of work including utilizing virtual platform, video conference.”

In his opening remarks, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang stressed that both China and ASEAN countries uphold peace and stability in the South China Sea.

He said China has since respected the international law when dealing with matters related to the South China Sea.

"This year celebrates the 25th anniversary of the DOC. We mark this special occasion because the DOC has played an important and indispensable role in promoting peace in the South China Sea. And this represents the very principle that we shall keep to a making and realizing long term peace in the South China Sea. We are also conducting COC consultations," said Keqiang.

"In this process, we take into account interests of all parties. We respect international law including the UNCLOS, we support the efforts to properly address matters related to the South China Sea in keeping with international law, including UNCLOS and also the DOC," he added.

The South China Sea is a vital sea lane where oil and natural gas have been discovered in several areas.

There have been confrontations in the past between China, which asserts historical ownership of nearly 90% of the area, and other claimants including ASEAN members Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.

In July 2016, an international arbitral court in The Hague, Netherlands invalidated China’s historical and massive claims over the resource-rich region.

Beijing has since ignored the ruling as it continued to beef up its presence in the contested territories.—LDF, GMA News